HARD UP?

Unemployed? Trying to find a new job? Not so fast. Being unemployed may not be so bad.

Pfizer says it will provide 70 of its most widely prescribed prescription drugs — including Lipitor and Viagra — free to people who have lost their jobs and health insurance.

It gives new meaning to the phrase "hard up."

BAY RIDGE NIGHT AT THE CYCLONES

I saw a poster for this today and - boom - it shows up on Bay Ridge Journal. Here it is again:

The Brooklyn Cyclones will host a "Bay Ridge Night" and fundraiser for local food pantries at 7 PM on July 8, at Keyspan Park in Coney Island.

The Cyclones, a Class "A" affiliate of the New York Mets, will play the Aberdeen Ironbirds, a Class "A" team affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles.

Regular boxes are $12 and field boxes $15.

For tickets, visit the Cyclones Website

To reserve for groups of 20 or more, call 718-507-TIXX.

A portion of each ticket sold using the promo code "Bay Ridge" will be donated to the collective food pantries of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton.

UNCLE FESTER

I'm very happy that my old friend, Kevin Chamberlin, will be playing Uncle Fester in the upcoming Broadway show, The Addams Family. Kevin and I go back 20 years to when we were both struggling and broke. Thank god one of us has moved on to bigger and better things.

MORE HORN TOOTING

Ok, so I have to toot my horn a little more. My musical, China - The Whole Enchilada, is currently playing in Houston and seems to be doing pretty well.

Caution: Supersensitive sorts need not attend Theater LaB Houston's production of Mark Brown's China - The Whole Enchilada. The show is about as un-PC as it gets. Played by "three white guys" dressed in coolie hats, among other offensive garb, the show covers the history of China at breakneck speed, galloping through dynasties and thousands of years as it pokes fun at ethnic stereotypes and the folks who buy into them.

I found myself grinning, if not outright laughing, through most of the goofy shenanigans.

MEAT LOAF

I know it's Friday but I couldn't resist the Meat Loaf. I saw this documentary the other day and it rocks. And I've finally found someone more neurotic than me.

MANNY SUSPENDED

Oy. Just as the LA Dodgers went into the Major League Baseball modern day record books with the best start at home, Manny Ramirez has to go and spoil the party by getting suspended for 50 games.

Yep. Manny was suspended for failing a drug test. The suspension begins tonight and he'll be available to play again on July 3. Here's Manny's statement:

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

"I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

Ramirez has been having a scorcher of a season. He leads the Dodgers in batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.492) and slugging percentage (.641), and he is tied for the team lead in home runs with six.

So thanks for tainting it, Manny.

DODGERS BASEBALL

I lived in LA for years and suffered through season after season of lousy Dodger baseball. We moved back to NYC two years ago and what happens? Joe Torre goes to LA, the Yankees start charging $10,500 for a family of four, and the Mets aren't far behind.

And now, to top it all off, the Dodgers have started the season with twelve straight wins at home, tying the modern-day record of Ty Cobb's 1911 Cubs.

With that said, I'm sure the Dodgers will lose their next game. I've broken the cardinal rule of mentioning a no-hitter while the game is in progress.


Correction: It was the 1911 Tigers. Not the Cubs. Wrong animal. Sorry.

DOM DELUISE DEAD

Brooklyn born actor Dom DeLuise passed away yesterday. He was 75. RIP.

TO GO COLD CUP TUMBLERS

The Starbucks To Go Cold Tumblers have finally arrived at he Starbucks on 75th and 3rd. I've been waiting for these double insulated babies to make it to the store. Starbucks has been selling the Tumblers for hot drinks but the cold ones. Use them for your cold drinks and get a whopping $0.10 off each drink. Stop the madness. These will come in handy now that warm weather is right around the corner. And they make dandy mother's day gifts.

TOOTING MY OWN HORN

Every now and then I have to toot my own horn. From the New York Times:

"The polished, fast-paced, unabashedly theatrical (in the best sense of the word) production of “Around the World in 80 Days” at the Westport Country Playhouse is an extremely pleasant surprise.

The show is smart enough to make sophisticated adults laugh out loud and shamelessly silly enough to keep children in the audience interested and entertained.

Much credit goes to Mark Brown, the actor-playwright who wrote the adaptation.

Apparently, Mr. Brown likes to play with classic books and international settings. One of his earlier works is “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge,” set a year after the visits of the three Christmas spirits. And his “China — The Whole Enchilada” was a hit at last year’s Fringe Festival in New York."